State Official: Cervical Dislocation— Snapping Their Necks— Is Humane Way To Cull Chicken Flock

by Dennis Reeves Cooper

“You might say that the
City has fought the chickens and
the chickens have won.” That’s
what Assistant City Manager
John Jones told Key West the
Newspaper last month.

You can’t blame Jones for
being frustrated. He has been
fighting the “Chicken Wars”
for years— to no avail, for the
most part. Every few years, City
leaders announce an aggressive
initiative to cull the wild chicken
population here. But, in the end,
almost nothing ever happens.
And there is a reason for that.

Good Samaritan

Learns That No
Good Deed Goes
Unpunished

HIS REWARD FOR STEPPING IN
TO HELP WAS MULTIPLE HEAD
INJURIES AND THE LOSS OF A
PRECIOUS MEDALLION. BUT HE
SAYS HE WOULD DO IT AGAIN

by Rhonda
Linseman-Saunders

On February 10, while
dozens of passers-by ignored
the situation, local business
owner Domingo “Mingo”
Castellanos stepped in to come
to the aid of a young homeless
man and his girlfriend, who
were reportedly being beaten
by a group of young men. Castellanos quickly learned,
however, that no good deed
goes unpunished. During the
altercation, Castellanos’ Atocha
coin, adorned with his wife’s
original engagement diamond,
went missing from his neck.

“It is worth over $8,000,
but since the thief doesn’t have
the certificate of authenticity, it’s only worth a fraction of that,”
Castellanos said. “And it’s not
necessarily just the monetary
value of my Piece of Eight that
feels like such a loss—it was
special because it was my wife’s
diamond.”

PAGE ONE COMMENTARY

Another Example: Police Chief Mauldin Appears
to Be Protecting Bad Cops While Trying to Force
Good Cops out of the Department

OFFICER MATTHEW KLOSOWSKI STOOD BEFORE THE
CITY COMMISSION TUESDAY NIGHT AND RESIGNED
HIS POSITION. HE SAYS HE WAS FORCED OUT OF
THE DEPARTMENT AFTER HE REFUSED TO DESTROY
EVIDENCE ALLEGEDLY SHOWING A SUPERIOR
OFFICER COMMITTING A CRIME

EDITOR’S NOTE: You
may recall first seeing Officer
Matt Kloslwski’s name in this
paper back in July of last year
when we ran a page one story
headlined “Cop Allegedly
Uses Patrol Car To Run Down
Suspect; Then Tries To Cover
It Up.” The story was about
Sgt. Pablo Rodriguez, who
has a reputation for making
“rough” arrests. Unfortunately
for Rodriguez, the incident was
captured on video through the camera mounted on the dashboard
in Klosowski’s patrol
car. When Rodriguez learned
that the incident had been recorded,
he allegedly ordered
Klosowski to destroy the evidence.
Klosowski refused. And the rest is history.
Here is the text of Klosowski’s
letter, which he read to the
mayor and city commissioners
Tuesday night:

by Matthew Klosowski

This letter tenders my
resignation from the Key West
Police Department. While it is
too late for me, my hope is that
this letter will result in a better
police department for officers
who remain and the citizens
of Key West.

I wanted to be a police officer
since I was a child. When
I started with the Key West Police
Department, I was proud.
I wanted to serve honorably
and retire in Key West years
from now.

School Children

Safe from Renters

by Rhonda
Linseman-Saunders

The county commission
recently brought the school
housing project near Sugarloaf
School closer to reality with a
unanimous vote that will essentially
allow 28 units of school
employee housing on land
abutting Sugarloaf School.

Before moving to the Keys
three years ago, I researched
Monroe County Public Schools
and decided on Sugarloaf
School, for various reasons, including
academic rigor and the
K-8 model. It’s a good school. I
like it, and I’d have driven my
children to Sugarloaf whether
we settled in Key West or Marathon.
Ironically, however, one
of the few detracting factors
for me was that the school had
the look of a minimum security
prison built in the middle of
nowhere.

Post Hurricane Wilma,
the new landscaping, including
the addition of more trees, has
made a big difference and will
continue to do so as the greenery
matures. The new lighted parklike
fields and track also help
give it a great people-friendlier
appearance. But houses—now
THAT would really set the place
off. I can’t wait to see them and
I welcome them to the neighborhood.
And I don’t just drop my
kids off there everyday; I live on
Upper Sugarloaf.

Parking Permit Program Reinstated

Last month, City Manager Jim Scholl announced that the
City would no longer issue Commercial Parking Permits, which
allowed residents to pay $107.50 per month for unlimited parking
at City parking meters. But Scholl has now reinstated the
program on a month-to-month basis. There have been some
questions about whether or not the program is legal. Former
City Manager Felix Cooper introduced the program in 1995, but
it has never been approved by the city commission.

Spring Forward Sunday

Spring Daylight Saving Time (DST) happens at 2 o’clock
Sunday morning, March 9. Don’t forget to change the time on
your clocks one hour forward. On August 8, 2005, President
George W. Bush signed the Energy Policy Act of 2005. This Act
changed the time change dates for Daylight Saving Time in the
U.S. DST now begins on the second Sunday in March and ends
the first Sunday in November.

$600 Dinner Planned

at Little White House

On Sunday, March 16, the Harry S. Truman Little White
House will be the site of the second annual Presidential State
Dinner with President Truman’s grandson, Clifton Truman Daniel
as host. The dinner is a fundraiser for the sixth Truman Legancy
Symposium, Truman’s Legacy on Immigration, May 16-17 in Key
West. Last year’s dinner was hosted by the Spottswoods and
raised over $22,000 for scholarships and world-class speakers
at the symposium.

Guests will enjoy an intimate dinner catered by Great Events.
Tickets are are $600 per person. Tickets include admission to the
Truman Legacy Symposium. Info: Bob Wolz at 305-294-9911.

THE ENVIRONMENT

Smart Sponge Technology at Work
in Duval Street Storm Drains

Financed by a grant from
the National Fish and Wildlife
Foundation, the City of
Key West installed 33 debris-
trapping inserts in storm
drains along Duval Street. That
new technology, called Smart
Sponge, came in handy not long
ago, when there was a grease
spill from a local restaurant.

Operations Management
International (OMI) conducted
the grease spill cleanup for the
city and reported that four gallons
of grease was captured by
the filters— which means that
it did not end up in the nearshore
waters.

ON THE SONNY SIDE

The Sky Is Falling

by Charles “Sonny” McCoy

During the time of the Dinosaurs, a large asteroid
was headed on a collision course with earth.

The giant comet or asteroid impacted at a site named
Chicxulub on the north coast of what is known as the
Yucatan Peninsular, approximately 600 miles west of
Key West. The existence of this impact crater was not
known until about 20 years ago when satellite data
and ground studies allowed it to gain prominence
among most scientist as the long sought after “smoking
gun” responsible for the demise of those dinosaurs
and more than 70 percent of earths living species 65
millions years ago.

Rick Boettger

Much DooDoo
About Nothing

by Rick Boettger

Our beach advisories have been a source of
concerned embarrassment for years. A measure of
something like “fecal coliforms” seems to say we are
pooping in our nearshore waters. We act ashamed
and angry, worry that tourists will shun us, and
spend millions of our own and public dollars fixing
our sewers and laterals.

I say ENOUGH ALREADY. We have thrown too
much money at an exaggerated problem. Any more
would be pure waste, as well as a further diversion of
attention from our real water quality problems.
“Exaggerated”? Let us separate the hype from
the facts. A fact is that, yes, some bacterial and viral
agents in the fecal matter of sick people can survive in
salt water long enough to get swimmers sick, if they
get them in their mouth and nose.